WORLD TOUR CONTINUES OVERSEAS ON AUGUST 10; NORTH AMERICAN LEG KICKS OFF SEPTEMBER 23

The Shins have released their innovative new video for “Half a Million,” watch here. Directed by Lamar + Nik, the “Half a Million” visual was created using 5,566 stickers that were then stop-motion animated. In celebration of the band’s fifth studio album, Heartworms, singer and guitarist James Mercer stopped by NPR for a special Tiny Desk performance. Watch the stripped back concert here, which NPR Music calls “simple and perfect.” The Shins also recently announced new tour dates in support of Heartworms, extending what is already a huge worldwide tour. The additional dates include The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on September 29 with special guests Foxygen and Day Wave, plus Reno’s Grand Sierra Resort and Casino on October 7 with special guest Day Wave, and The Anthem in Washington, DC on November 2 with special guest Baio. See below full itinerary below. The Shins invited Mertle, the winner of #SHINSVANCONTEST, to open for them in Niagara Falls and Grand Rapids. Ahead of their show at Michigan’s Meijer Gardens Amphitheater, Fox 17 interviewed both bands in the newly refurbished 1990 Ford 350 Clubwagon – watch here. Following Grand Rapids, The Shins concluded the first North American leg of their world tour at Chicago’s Lollapalooza on Sunday, August 6. The band played an evening set to a packed crowd at the festival’s main stage, with Billboard raving, “Mercer appeared more lighthearted and loose… the bubbly energy made The Shins’ set all the better,” and the Chicago Tribune exclaiming “in stringing together songs from across the Shins estimable career, the quality of the work can’t be denied.” Produced by James Mercer, The Shins’ fifth album, Heartworms, was released March 10 to a wave of acclaim: Entertainment Weekly called Heartworms the “band’s boldest album yet” and “a rewarding and singular addition to the Shins’ catalog,” Rolling Stone lauded its “home-brewed feel, heavy on Beach Boys grandeur, New Wave kicks, squiggly synth-pop and warm-weather soft rock – with lyrics tenderly balanced between midlife malaise and youthful romanticism. The result is some of the most charming music he’s ever made,” while Time magazine opined “Heartworms works on a grander scale, with ornate sonic tableaux.” Heartworms is available everywhere now via Aural Apothecary/Columbia Records. The Shins On Tour: 8/10 Gothenburg, SE Way Out West 8/11 Oslo, NO Oya Festival 8/13 Copenhagen, DK Vega 8/14 Hamburg, DE Grosse Freiheit 8/15 Berlin, DE Huxley’s 8/16 Cologne, DE Live Music Hall 8/18 Kiewit-Hasselt, BE Pukkelpop 8/19 Biddinghuizen, NL Lowlands Festival 8/20 Wales, UK Green Man Festival 8/22 Manchester, UK Academy 8/23 Nottingham, UK Rock City 8/25 Boulogne-Billancourt, FR Rock En Seine 8/27 Turin, IT Todays Festival 9/23 Redmond, WA King County’s Marymoor Park 9/24 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory Concert House 9/25 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre 9/26 Bend, OR The Athletic Club of Bend 9/28 Paso Robles, CA Vina Robles Amphitheatre 9/29 Los Angeles, CA The Greek Theatre 9/30 Berkeley, CA Greek Theater 10/1 San Diego, CA Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theater 10/3 Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theater 10/4 Santa Fe, NM Santa Fe Opera 10/5 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheater 10/7 Reno, NV Grand Sierra Resort and Casino 11/2 Washington, DC The Anthem * 11/3 Brooklyn, NY Kings Theatre * 11/4 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore * 11/7 Detroit, MI The Fillmore Detroit * 11/8 Columbus, OH Express Live! Indoor Pavilion * 11/10-12 McDade, TX Sound on Sound Music Festival 11/14 New Orleans, LA Civic Theatre * 11/15 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium * 11/16 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore Charlotte * 11/17 Atlanta, GA Coca Cola Roxy Theatre * 11/19 Ciudad de Mexico, MX Corona Capital * Baio supportingThe ShinsWebsite | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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I am a small business owner, freelance writer, and part-time piano instructor in Charlotte, NC. My musical career started at the age of five when I was forced into taking piano lessons. I played flute in the school band and added the guitar as a young teen. There is nothing I would rather do than be at a live show. My first concert was Shaun Cassidy at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo in 1978.
My top five live shows ever are:
1. Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band – Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, NY 1984- They played for 3 ½ hours and it was awesome.
2. Carolina Rebellion- Metrolina Expo Grounds, Charlotte, NC, May, 2011 – The first ever Carolina Rebellion featured over 15 bands with Avenged Sevenfold headlining. Non-stop music for over 12 hours.
3. Chevelle- Food Lion Speed Street, Charlotte, NC, May, 2008 - The first time I ever saw Chevelle live and I was hooked!
4. Skillet with Red- Bojangle’s Coliseum, Charlotte, NC, April, 2010 – Skillet is one of my favorite bands and they totally kick it live.
5. 106.5 The End’s Weenie Roast #9- Verizon Wireless Amiptheater, Charlotte, NC , October, 2003- Featured Staind, Shinedown, Three Days Grace.

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